The old Fire Station No. 5 will be the “heart” of the Nobleman Hotel, with the check-in desk, communal areas, game spaces and restaurant.
FORT WORTH, Texas — This article was originally published by our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal. You can read the original article here.
Construction to turn an old Fort Worth Fire Department building dating to 1911 into a hotel is nearly complete.
Dallas-based Bedford Lodging LLC plans to open the 153-room hotel within the historic building at 503 Bryan Ave. in mid-February or March. The building will also feature a restaurant called The Duchess.
The old Fire Station No. 5 will be the “heart” of the Nobleman Hotel, with the check-in desk, communal areas, game spaces and restaurant. The hotel will also feature a pool, fitness center and 1,500-square-foot meeting and outdoor event spaces. In total, the space is about 100,000 square feet. The fire station closed in 1965 and was used for city storage and other purposes over the years. A vodka distillery opened in the building in 2013. The building is registered on the National Register of Historic Places.
The hotel is Bedford Hospitality’s first project in Fort Worth. Jeff Blackman, president of Bedford Hospitality, said the opportunity to transform the fire station came in 2021, when the firm bought the building from another group trying to it into a hotel. His team is working on preserving the history of the hotel and complying with building standards. The exterior of the building is untouched and the windows are being refurbished. On the inside, Blackman said visitors will see a fire pole and a staircase that are being repurposed.
“It’s a 110-year-old building with tremendous charm that we’re restoring and bringing back to life,” he said.
Blackman said the location of the hotel is also notable: the city’s Medical District. The hotel will have 32 extended-stay suites equipped with kitchenettes, full-size refrigerators, cooktops, dishwashers and convection microwaves.
“There’s a lot of long-term stay needs, whether it’s a family … visiting a family member that’s in the hospital for an extended period, or traveling nurses,” he said.
Many hospitals are expanding in the area, including UT Southwestern, Cook Children’s and Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center.
Mike Brennan, president of Near Southside Inc., said the Nobleman adds a missing element to the Near Southside. He said there aren’t many hotels in the heart of the neighborhood. The Nobleman is poised to be a centerpiece in the hospitality area for the neighborhood.
“This is really a significant sign of progress for the neighborhood,” Brennan said. “And there are other hotel developers that have sort of fallen in line with just a later timeline.”
The tax increment financing district that covers the Near Southside devoted about $800,000 to help with infrastructure on the project, Brennan said.
Florida-based hotel design firm KMC&A Design is designing the Nobleman’s rooms, common area and restaurant. Dallas-based Ashlar Projects is creating the hotel’s branding and Kansas-based Crossland Construction is providing construction services. Blackman declined to disclose the total construction price, but state filings indicated it could cost an estimated $26.5 million.
Bedford Logding has developed 10 hotels and acquired four since its founding in 2013. Its portfolio includes The Waters Hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas; AC Hotel in Frisco, Colorado and SpringHill Suites in Lakewood, Colorado.